Merħba il-Valletta: welcome to Valletta. The capital of Malta, Valletta is a World Heritage Site, small in scale and easy to explore. It’s known for its stunning coastal views and its gorgeous architecture, from renaissance palaces to the 21st century City Gate. Here, you can ‘meet’ such varied characters from history as St Paul, Caravaggio and the Knights of St John and learn some of the island’s most inspiring stories: how Malta triumphed during the Great Siege of 1565 and why it was awarded the George Cross during World War II.
Our 8 Valletta episodes will bring you all the background history and culture you need to really understand the city. In short, here is all the research you’d do yourself if only you had the time! See below for reading ideas and useful links.
Get Your Bearings
Malta sits in the middle of the Mediterranean, midway between Gibraltar and Alexandria, both 1000 miles away. Just to the north is Sicily and to the south is the North African coast. So, it’s always been a meeting point for a wide range of cultures and peoples. Malta, the largest of 5 islands in its archipelago, is mainly flat – except for some steep streets in Valletta! – and has neither mountains nor a river. It has a rocky coastline, and a number of excellent spots for diving and snorkelling. Valletta is on an east-facing promontory, with two major harbours: Marsamxett facing north and the south-facing Grand Harbour.
Valletta, Europe’s first planned city, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but it’s quite small and you can walk from one end to the other in less than half an hour. It’s built on a grid system, with two main streets – Republic Street and Merchant Street – running east to west and smaller roads connecting them to each other and leading downhill from each to the coast. There are a number of squares, including Freedom Square at the western end, St John’s Square where the cathedral is and St George’s Square with the Grand Palace built along one side.
valletta’s history
Elsewhere on the island you’ll find neolithic temples and Roman remains, but Valletta’s story begins at the end of the 16th century, after the Siege of Malta, when the Knights of St John decided to make a permanent home on the island they’d defended successfully and founded the city. They remained for another 200 years until the arrival of French troops – Napoleon had asked ‘why should we not take Malta? – and then, just a few years later in 1814, the British. British rule lasted until 1964, when Malta became independent and the latest chapter began in 2004 when the island joined the European Union. The two great events in Valletta’s history remain the Siege and World War II.
In 1565, the Knights of St John, helped by the islanders, drove away the Turks who tried to invade, even though they were vastly outnumbered. This victory, known as the Great Siege, ensured that Malta remained Christian, rather than becoming Muslim. The Knights then founded a new capital city, named after their Grand Master, Jean de Valete and commissioned many of the city’s most beautiful buildings, including the Grand Master’s Place and St John’s Cathedral.
During World War II, Malta came under siege again, heavily bombed by first the Italians and then the Germans. Churchill was adamant that Malta must be retained at all costs, because of its vital strategic position and RAF pilots and the British Navy were deployed to defend it. In 1942, after two years of harsh conditions, much of it spent living in underground shelters in near starvation, Malta was awarded the George Cross in recognition of the population’s bravery and resilience.
many cultural influences
The Maltese language is both one of the least-spoken languages worldwide and an official language of the European Union. Its most basic words have Arabic roots, overlaid with Latin as well as French, Italian and English. It’s written in Roman, rather than Arabic, script, but the alphabet has 29 letters, including soft and hard versions of g, h and z. A similar mix is seen in the island’s food, which is based on Mediterranean cuisine, but with many other influences. The national dish is rabbit stew – stuffat-tal-Fenek in Maltese – and the most popular street snack is pastizzi, little diamond shaped pastries filled with peas and ricotta cheese.
symbols of malta
The Maltese flag is half red and half white, with the George Cross in the top left-hand corner. The Maltese Cross is a familiar sight, originally the symbol of the Knights of St John who chose the 8-pointed cross in reference to their 8 ‘obligations’ or the rules by which they lived. The legendary Maltese Falcon was made of gold, inset with jewels, a gift sent to the pope by the Knights after he granted them Malta as their home in the 16th century. It was lost at sea and has been sought ever since.
Colourful boats have come to symbolise the island, both the luzzu, little fishing boats, and the larger gondola-type vessels known as dghajsas, which often have a Phoenician symbol, the Eye of Osiris, to ward off danger and bring the sailors good luck at sea. As for things to buy in Malta as souvenirs, lace is the most popular item, followed by silver filigree and hand-blown glass.
In the next post, we’ll be outlining three walks around Valletta, taking in all the main sights. You’ll find a list of all the episodes planned below, along with useful links and recommendations for further reading: staple guidebooks which proved useful in our research, history books, novels and a book about Maltese cuisine.
Listen to the podcast
OTHER posts in the valletta series
This is our current series. The list shows what posts are planned and as they are written, the titles will become links to take you straight there.
The Knights of St John
How Malta Earned the George Cross
Art, Archaeology and Architecture
Food and Festivities
Days out from Valletta
Stories from Valletta
links and reading
Two useful websites for tourists
Visit Malta
Malta Uncovered
3 Guide Books
Pocket Rough Guide to Malta and Gozo
Lonely Planet Malta and Gozo
Eyewitness Top 10 Malta and Gozo
4 History Books
The History of Malta by Nuria Rehn
Fortress Island Malta by Peter Jacobs
Ladies of Lascaris by Paul McDonald
A Death in Malta by Paul Caruana Galizia
Maltese Cooking
Taste of Malta by Anton B Dougall
2 Novels set in Malta
The Kappillan of Malta by Nicholas Monserrat
Secrets of Malta by Cecily Blench
Last Updated on November 25, 2024 by Marian Jones
